Linden House Associate Dentist James Pegg describes the replacement of a failed amalgam restoration using minimal intervention, direct restoration techniques in a recently published article for Dentistry Magazine.

“A 15-year-old girl presented for an initial consultation, complaining that a filling in her back tooth had broken. She was not experiencing any pain, although she was finding the tooth rough and uncomfortable against her tongue. Examination revealed that a large amalgam restoration in the upper left first molar had fractured. See image above.

The patient’s medical and social histories were unremarkable. Her guardian reported that an amalgam restoration had been placed in this tooth four years previously, with a larger restoration subsequently placed two years later. It was also recorded that the patient’s previous dentist had apparently remarked that this tooth had ‘weak enamel’.

My recommendation to the patient was that the remainder of the failed filling should be removed. Once the quality of the underlying tooth structure had been assessed, a decision on how to restore the tooth could be made. The patient and her guardian agreed to this proposal.”

rim-of-supragingival-enamel

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